The old olive mill.....

Today is a slow day. We finished lunch at 3.30 pm a bit later than usual. It seems like the rainy days are over and Monchéri said he might give a hand to a friend for the olive harvest. It's not been a good year, in our local area for the olive season. With constant rain, the olives which dropped on the ground got wasted so the production is lower this winter. I did some olive picking a few years ago on a friend's olive grove and I'm not too sure I'd be ready to do it again ! We spent the whole day bent on our knees to pick the olives on the ground...I've never assisted to the final process, when you take your harvest to the olive mill. Can you figure what it was like in the past to grind the olives in order to produce the coveted golden liquid ?
Not far away from our village is the village of Niguelas which holds one of the most ancient olive mills. It had been operating since the XVth century till the early beginning of XXth century.
The olives were deposited in these stone cubicles. They were numbered and assigned to the harvesters who would pour in a fixed quantity of olives (approx. 250 kg)

Then they were ground by a roller made of stone which looks impressively heavy.
Harvesters transported the fruit in baskets made of esparto. I so love this material. From time to time, we still see an old man on his mule transporting wood or herbs in big esparto baskets, slowly but gracefully interrupting the traffic.
Wishing you a slow peaceful week end !

Comments

Linda Sue said…
This is SO cool! LOVE those enormous wheels- that would make some hefty jewelry!! LOVExxooo
Simply Colette said…
Oooh I love this post. Thanks for sharing. I will be sure to stock up on my olive oil :) I can never get enough. Have a great weekend!
Joyful said…
That is a great lesson in olive oil making. I just love the things of the past though I know I prefer (for my own use) the conveniences of the present. On another matter, I'm hosting my first giveaway at my blog. I do hope you and friends can drop by and participate. Have a lovely weekend.
Unknown said…
Hi Lala,

I do love Olive Oils! There can be such variation in them it is really quite amazing. I hope to taste some from your neighborhood some day.

All the best to you & yours,

David
http://www.globalaroundtown.blogspot.com
Susana said…
Qué bonito Lala! Perdona que no te visitara en tanto tiempo!!! Hemos estado viajando pero ya estamos de vuelta! Besitos!
Anonymous said…
Dear Lala,

These pictures make me think of family Flintsone.

And as always, your images are soooo mutch beyond the ordinary!

Lots of love

Agneta, the swedish one
Ana Gonzalez said…
Bonito reportaje. Me encanta los olivos. El aceite de oliva esta muy arraigado a la cultura de España y a mi infancia en Cadiz, y yo desde pequeña siempre desayuno pan con aceite de oliva virgen. Gracias por tu amable comentario.
Ileana said…
What a sweet, beautiful process. Love the photos.
Anonymous said…
Wow, this is so cool. These photos are really great. I've never been to an olive mill.
ceecee said…
This was fascinating. How hard these people worked for that luscious yellow gold. I'm sure there was lots of dancing once it was over. Save a copla for me!

Catherine
Mélanie said…
Très belles photos !!! J'ai l'impression de ressentir le dur labeur à travers ces images

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